Are u.s. farmers experiencing increased bankruptcies

1. Rising filings: what the data and trade groups are saying

Multiple agriculture trade groups and regional reporting show a marked uptick in farm bankruptcies in 2024–2025: a widely cited figure says family farm bankruptcies increased by 55% last year compared with 2023 ^[1], and several outlets reported that bankruptcy filings in the first half of 2025 exceeded all of 2024 and were roughly double the prior year’s level for some periods ^{[5] [3]}. The American Farm Bureau Federation and state farm bureaus link these increases to multi-year negative returns, eroded working capital, rising loan delinquencies and higher Chapter 12 filings, citing Federal Reserve analysis and USDA data ^{[6] [4] [7]}.

2. Regional nuance and the Fed’s read on the situation

Regional Federal Reserve reports — including the Minneapolis Fed’s Ninth District analysis — confirm that bankruptcies have increased in specific regions and that lenders are reporting weaker repayment rates and deteriorating credit conditions in several Fed districts ^{[2] [8]}. The Minneapolis Fed highlights that the increase is coming off a very low floor: more farmers are filing Chapter 12, but the absolute numbers in many districts remain small ^[2]. That nuance matters because bankruptcies are a lagging indicator of stress: they climb after sustained losses and tightened credit ^[2].

3. Why farmers are being pushed toward bankruptcy now

The immediate drivers cited across reporting are persistent negative margins created by collapsing commodity prices since 2022, elevated input and production costs, and constrained financing — a combination that has eroded working capital and increased the attractiveness or necessity of Chapter 12 reorganization for some operations ^{[6] [4] [7]}. Analysts point to weak corn and soybean prices versus breakeven thresholds, rising per-acre input costs, and continuing trade and market pressures as central contributors to farm losses estimated in the tens of billions over recent crop years ^{[5] [7]}.

4. Policy response, advocacy and competing narratives

Farm groups and state bureaus have ramped advocacy for aid and cite rising bankruptcies to press Congress and the administration for emergency support, while reporting shows discussions of large assistance packages and proposals to expand safety nets — though many provisions of proposed bills would not take effect until late 2026 ^{[8] [4] [9]}. That advocacy carries an implicit agenda: emphasizing breadth and severity of the crisis to secure faster policy relief, whereas Fed research and some economists emphasize the small absolute number of filings relative to the sector and point to farmers’ built-up cash cushions as partially blunting the worst outcomes ^{[2] [4]}.

5. Balance of evidence and remaining uncertainties

Evidence from U.S. Courts statistics, farm bureaus, regional Fed surveys and news reporting converges on a clear answer: yes, bankruptcies among U.S. farmers have increased recently — notably in 2024–2025 and into 2026 — driven by multi-year losses and tighter credit ^{[1] [3] [2]}. Important qualifiers remain: filings rose from an unusually low baseline so totals are still low in historical perspective, many affected farmers use Chapter 12 to restructure rather than liquidate, and pending policy measures could alter trajectories once implemented in 2026–2027 ^{[2] [4] [8]}. Reporting gaps include comprehensive national totals through 2026 across all bankruptcy chapters and granular borrower-level data that would clarify how many operations ultimately exit farming versus reorganize — those specifics are not fully available in the cited sources ^{[2] [1]}.